


Jaune's Bizarre Adventure

by KingOfRats



Category: RWBY, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Gen, bc someone has to have the name, jaune joestar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-16
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-08-31 08:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8571631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingOfRats/pseuds/KingOfRats
Summary: I don't really know what to put here because it's 2 am and someone send help my roommate is going to kill meAlso Jaune Joestar tracks down his father's killer, Cinder Brando, only to discover that she has designs upon the prodigious Beacon Academy.





	1. Chapter 1

Junior’s was more than a club - or maybe it was less than one.

Sure, it played music, sold beer and people danced there, but those were all a front. Junior the Bartender was just a cover for Junior the Information Broker and Junior the Rent-A-Thug, and not even a very good cover. It was a paper-thin secret known by everyone and enforced by just enough money to turn the police’s gaze elsewhere.

It was a little odd that there was no bouncer outside, though. He pushed open the door and- Oh. 

Jaune ducked as a man in a cheap suit soared through the newly opened door like the most graceful of flightless birds. A blonde haired girl stared at him from across the club floor, which was littered with the broken bodies of tables and goons alike. The bouncer gurgled up at him from the floor.

“Sup,” she called over the pulsing buzz of club music as she punched the DJ. “Hope you weren’t looking for a night on the town.”

“No,” Jaune eyes swept the bar before finding Junior’s cowering form. “Just here to ask a few questions.”

The blonde barked a short laugh. “Looks like we’re here for the same thing then!”

“Why?” Junior cried to the uncaring gods above. Combat stopped as sobbing noises emanated from his position behind the bar.

A thug leaned over and gave the man a cautious pat on the back. “You okay there, boss?”

Junior threw himself to his feet. “What am I paying you for?” he shouted at his hired help as he tried to wipe the tears from his face. “Get them!”

Jaune strode casually towards the man of the hour, even as the goons threw themselves in his way. Perhaps they thought he would be easier to beat down than the blonde girl, who had shotgun fists and what looked like a rather wicked right. Junior watched as his men were blown away, launched across the room by an invisible force as soon as they got to close to Jaune. 

By the time Jaune reached him, the man had given up his resistance. “Not the face?” the criminal-cum-bartender pleaded.

Jaune pulled out a photo.

Junior paled as he looked at it. A beautiful woman, with black hair and golden eyes. She wore a crimson dress and a green circlet shaped like a heart. “Th-thats…” he gulped. “I can’t tell you a thing. She’d kill me.”

“I know,” Jaune said, frowning, “But she isn’t here.  _ I am _ .”

A purple arm materialized in front of Jaune, although no one reacted to it. The arm lowered its hand onto Junior’s head and squeezed lightly. Bone creaked as it threatened to break.

“Beacon!” Junior screamed, hands futilely prying at the hand he couldn’t see. “She’s looking for something in Beacon! Buying anything about the place - floorplans, names, anything!” The hand dropped Junior to the ground.

Jaune stopped at the exit of the club to let the girl catch up.

“Hey,” the blonde haired girl greeted after she finished her business, “Looks like great minds think alike. I might have overheard your question a little - you looking for someone too?” Her eyes were sharp, and having seen her performance in the club, Jaune was pretty sure she wasn’t someone to cross. He nodded.

“You going?” she asked. “To Beacon, that is.”

“I hadn’t planned on it,” Jaune answered. “Now? Who knows.”

“Way to get a girl’s hopes up,” the blonde complained. She thrust a hand forwards, and he almost dove out of the way before he realized she was offering a handshake. “I”m Yang.”

“Jaune,” he reached forwards and shook her hand. “Jaune Joestar.”

“Eh, that’s a little long,” the other blonde decided, “I think I’ll call you… Jojo!”

Jaune stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to say. “What?”

“C’mon, Jojo, we’ve got a whole night to kill,” Yang cheered, raising a bottle of something pilfered from the bar even as the wailing cry of police sirens echoed through the night, “And I’d rather not spend it in jail!”

\--- 

Jaune stumbled off the Bullhead, overjoyed to return to the sweet, sweet earth. Holding in the urge to vomit never really got easier, no matter how many times he flew.

The crowd that had spilled out with him dissipated slowly, people finding friends and luggage before heading towards the welcome ceremony. He had neither. All he had brought to Vale was a small bag of essentials, and he had not come to make friends…

“Hey,” a familiar voice called, “Jojo, looks like you made it in!”

Well, not on purpose anyways.

“Yang,” he greeted, before looking at the girl being dragged behind her, “Who’s that?”

“This is my little sister, Ruby,” Yang said, pulling the girl forwards. 

Jaune raised an eyebrow. “So, uh,” he started, trying to think of something to break the ice. “Does she wreck nightclubs as a hobby too?” 

Yang shot him a betrayed look. 

“Yang!” Ruby cried, stomping a foot as she turned towards her sister. “What does he mean by that?”

“It wasn’t a big deal - just a small bar fight, y’know?” Yang said, trying to calm her sister down. Jaune was a little surprised to see that it was working until he realized that getting into fights was probably a regular occurrence for her.

“She demolished the place and threatened the owner,” he deadpanned, sabotaging her efforts.

“Yaaaaaang!” 

“Traitor!” Yang yelled, even as Ruby started pounding on her in a fit of impotent little sibling rage.

\---

Yang stopped running.

“So…” Jaune said, “Any reason why we just ditched your sister?”

“You heard me back there, Ruby needs to make some friends,” Yang said.

Jaune looked awkwardly down at the hand still holding his arm, “Then why bring  _ me _ along with you?”

“Oh?” Yang leaned a little closer. “Am I making you uncomfortable, Jojo?”

He frowned and pulled his arm away. “Why do you keep calling me that?”

The blonde ignored his question, elbowing him, “I wasn’t busting Junior’s balls alone, y’know. Maybe I didn’t want to leave Ruby alone with such a bad influence.”

“I busted no balls,” Jaune denied. “That was all you. In fact, you’re probably a worse influence than I am.” 

“Won’t argue that one,” Yang joked before growing serious“How’d you get into Beacon so quick? Two days doesn’t seem like a lot of notice.”

“My family’s pretty good friends with the Speedwagon Foundation.” Jaune shrugged. “I just asked, they did the rest.”

“Pulled some strings,” Yang mused.

She wasn’t exactly wrong - the Speedwagons might not have been the economic powerhouses that the Schnees were, but they were local to Vale and that did matter. It was just that, even then, to get entrance to Beacon in as little time as they did was as surprising as it was unreasonable. He had hoped to get transferred in part way through the year at best. No, the Speedwagon Foundation might have helped smooth the way for his admission, but something else was definitely at play. 

“So, why’d you bring me along?” Jaune asked again.

“I wanted to ask you a favor,” Yang admitted. “ I don’t know how teams are going to get put together, but you seemed to get on with Ruby well enough, and you handled yourself well enough in that bar. I know I can’t look after her forever, but if you end up on her team...”

“I’ll look after her,” he offered. “But if she can fight anything like you can, I doubt she’ll need it.”

“You really know how to flatter a girl,” Yang said as she laughed, sounding relieved. Jaune tried to push her off as she threw an arm over her shoulder, but his struggles were half-hearted. He understood what she was worried about - he had enough sisters, older and younger, to know both sides of sibling worry.

“We should probably get to the welcome ceremony,” Jaune pointed out as he gave up.

Yang blinked as she looked around and noticed that they were practically alone. “Is now a bad time to say I’ve got no clue where we are?” Yang asked.

\---

“You mean after you abandoned me and I exploded?” Ruby pouted angrily at her sister.

“You exploded?” Jaune repeated, a little surprised. To think that Ruby hid such a temper... “You and your sister really are related.”

Yang and Ruby’s heads both snapped around, eerily in sink. “What’s that supposed to mean?” they said together, taking a step towards him.

“Uh…” Jaune laughed nervously as he tried and failed to back away from the two angered girls.

“You!” a white haired girl interrupted, pointing at Ruby and startling her. “You’re lucky we weren’t blown off the side of the cliff!” 

“Ah,” he interrupted as the girl drew a pamphlet forth like a mormon going to war, “Do I know you? You seem pretty familiar.”

The girl frowned. “My name is Weiss Schnee, perhaps you’ve-”  
Schnee? “I remember now!” Jaune said. “You’re Winter’s little sister! The one who pantsed her at that party.”

“It was an accident! How do you even know about that?” Weiss shouted, face turning as red as Ruby’s namesake. “That was a private event… Wait, are you that blond Speedwagon brat who attacked those waiters? You ruined all the food!”

“You must be thinking of someone else,” Jaune coughed awkwardly - he was still terrified of those intimidating waiters and their damn serving platters. Who knew what they could be hiding under there? “I’m actually Jaune  _ Joestar _ .”

“Of course, the Joestars are pretty good friends with the Speedwagon Foundation, so he must have gone to a couple of their parties…” Yang revealed, grinning viciously. “Hey, Weiss, you got any other embarrassing stories about blondie over here?”

Jaune grimaced. He was never going to live this down.

\---

The Headmaster droned on as Jaune rubbed his aching back. It wasn’t like sleeping on the floor was some great trial, although he did wish that he’d thought far enough ahead to bring a pillow. That orange haired girl kept sneaking over in the middle of the night to bother some poor boy, though, and it kept him awake almost the whole night. 

“What?” Someone cried out as their hopes and dreams were shattered by Ozpin’s speech.

He looked around for a moment, startled, and went back to ignoring it. Honestly, the speech probably wasn’t even all that bad - Ozpin wasn’t made headmaster of Beacon for nothing - but he had better things to worry about. Like how and when he was going to get clothes, toiletries and… well, pretty much everything. He’d been preparing to hit the road to track down lead after lead, not wait around in Beacon until that woman decided to show her face.

He could always ask his siblings to send him what he needed, but it wouldn’t be the best idea. Partly because shipping it via Bullhead would take a while - and he wasn’t prepared to wear this pair of pants for any longer than he absolutely had to - but mostly because it might encourage his siblings to come visit. He shuddered. No, he decided, it would be safer to wait until he could visit Vale. Maybe he’d even find the time after Initiation.

“Are there any questions?” 

Jaune looked around, confused. No one spoke.

“Good,” Ozpin said, “Now take your positions.” Positions? Why would they need… was Ozpin smiling?

The platform underneath him lurched.

He looked down at the forest landscape zooming by as he tumbled through the air.

“Oh.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> father forgive me for i have sinned  
> or written horrible crossover trash, i haven't been to church in like fucking years and it can be rly hard to tell sometimes
> 
> More seriously though, I'm not a great writer (especially around the 40th hour ;n;) and I don't really have anyone checking this for basic things like spelling, consistency, or, uh, common sense? So, if you find an error or have a criticism, please tell me about it!


	2. Chapter 2

The difference between flying and falling was a subtle one. Flying implied that you had control over where you were going, that you weren’t just hurtling towards the ground, prostrated before gravity. On the other hand, it also tended to be pretty easy to tell what was flying and what wasn’t.

Baseballs didn’t fly, but birds did.

Beacon applicants - especially those thrown off a cliff - didn’t fly.

Which made Ruby pretty glad that she had figured this kind of thing out already. Who knew Uncle Qrow’s lessons would be so helpful? Crescent Rose shifted into its fully deployed form and corrected her course with a few carefully aimed shots. It wouldn’t do to hit one of her classmates, after all.

Her head swiveled as she looked for a specific classmate in the sky. She really didn’t want to be with that Weiss girl. Like, _really_ really. Well, she didn’t want to be _anyone_ ’s partner except Yang’s, although maybe Jaune or Blake wouldn’t be too bad.

Purple flashed in the corner of her eye, something big enough to be a pers-

Her scythe cleaved through the little bird like it wasn’t even there.

“Birdie,” she cried in anguish as it fell, “No!”

\---

“No!” someone cried out.

Jaune looked up. Was someone else unprepared for the fall? He frowned at the thought. It wasn’t exactly safe - the difference between flying and falling was uncomfortably slim. Especially uncomfortable, given a fall from that height might end in you becoming chunky salsa splattered across the forest floor. Even with years of training, all it would take was one mistake…

Nah, there was no way they would let that happen during the Initiation. Between what they taught at combat schools and the defensive nature of Aura, the test was probably totally safe.

Unless you were someone who had never spent a day in combat school and barely knew how to use your Aura. That was probably why they had an application - so they could remove those most likely to be at risk during Initiation… So how did Ozpin know that he would be fine? It wasn’t like he had the credentials to get in for real.

He’d had Speedwagon “handle it” - did the old man tell Ozpin? No, Speedwagon knew how his father had felt about that kind of thing - he wouldn’t spread stories of The Arrows so easily. The Headmaster must have already suspected something. His father had always spoken highly of the man, but to see it in action…

Jaune shivered.

The bushes shivered too.

He spun around, instincts flaring, “Star Platinum!” The spirit burst into existence behind him, ready to strike. It was a giant of a man, all rippling muscles and purple skin, crowned with a mane of unruly black hair.

Ruby Rose walked out. “Whoa!” she said staring right at the spirit floating behind his shoulder. “He’s… purple.”

“You can see him?” Jaune reeled.

“Am I not supposed to?” she asked, looking worried. “I can forget about him, if you want?”

Jaune blinked. “Uh, don’t worry about it. I’m just not used to other people being able to him. Normally only other Stand users can.”

“Er… Stand? Is that some kind of family Semblance?”

“...Sort of?” Jaune said, shaking his hand in a ‘so-so’ gesture. “It’s not the same Semblance, but they all run by the same rules?”

“Alright?”

Jaune shuffled awkwardly as he stared at Ruby staring at Star Platinum.

“Does he have to go to the bathroom?”

\---

Ruby dashed past him, Crescent Rose flashing in the sunlight.

Weapons were important. They were about as close as Hunters got to a badge of office - a customized weapon meant you were serious business. There were mass produced weapons that tended to be easy to use and cheap to make, but they were the province of thugs and soldiers. Perhaps that’s why he hadn’t replaced Crocea Mors with one.

Losing his father’s blade - seeing that woman take it like some trophy - hurt.

He’d get it back, though.

Because everything Speedwagon had been able to dig up agreed with what he’d found on his own. She was looking for something - or someone - in Beacon, so here he was. All he had to do was stick around until she poked her head in, and he’d get his shot at her. And if he got to be a Hunter in the meanwhile - got to attend the school that every kid in Vale dreamed of going to - well, all the better.

For now though, the lack of Crocea Mors was still a bit awkward.

Star Platinum roared as its fists blurred, pummeling the Beowolf brave enough to break from the circle. If he had his father’s old sword and shield, then he could have charged forwards, relied on them for defense and kept his Stand on the offensive. Without them…

Jaune had never been amazing with Crocea Mors. Watching his partner fight - seeing Ruby turn from Yang’s shy sister into a tornado of red steel - drove that home more than ever. It had always been his father’s weapon more than it had been his own, but a few inches of steel meant a lot in a fight. He had Aura, supposedly quite a bit, but that didn’t mean he wanted to rush into the claws of a Beowolf.

Without Crocea Mors, he was at a stalemate. Star Platinum was too fast and too strong for the Grimm to get past, but if his Stand was stuck defending him, then it could only kill them as they came. If he was alone, he would have needed to ignore them and keep going or dedicate his time to slowly exterminating them.

He had a partner though.

A fast one, at that. It was hard for him to even keep track of Ruby, and all he had to do was stand still and look pretty. Her scythe cleaved through whole Beowolves with ease. The Grimm couldn’t even touch her. Maybe against one of them alone, the Beowolves might have mattered - they might have been able to slow him down enough, or land a lucky hit on her - but against the two of them?

The Beowolves were a joke, and Star Platinum was the punchline.

Whenever one stepped forwards, his Stand crushed it. He maintained an island of safety in the middle of the pack, and Ruby flickered in and out of it, carving up Grimm and retreating before they could try and strike back. Jaune half-expected her to grow tired with how fast she was going - she was young and swinging around a weapon that was practically bigger than she was - but the fight seemed more like a warm up for her, if anything.

Crescent Rose flashed through the air. The last Beowolf collapsed, sans lower half.

They kept going.

\---

It seemed like they were the first to reach the forest temple. The relics, a collection of normal - if slightly larger than usual - chess pieces, stood untouched. All they had to do was take one and leave. No traps, no Grimm, just…

The two looked around suspiciously.

Slowly, cautiously, Ruby picked up a castle.

Nothing happened.

“I feel kind of disappointed,” Ruby said, pouting. “Not that I want to be attacked or anything, just…”

Jaune shook his head. “I know what you mean. It feels like there should have been a boss monster or something.” Ruby gasped. He spun around, Star Platinum appearing behind him. “What?”

“Do you think we just jinxed ourselves?” She wondered.

“There’s no such thing as jinxes.” Jaune said, confident.

\---

Ruby looked over at him. “We totally jin-”  
“No.” Jaune said.

“But look at-”  
“No.” Jaune said.

“You’re mean,” she pouted.

“No.” Jaune said, “Your sister is not the final boss.” Ruby opened her mouth, but Jaune cut her off, “Or a dragon.”

“And Renny, there were these really cool paintings on the wall!” The orange haired girl waved her arms wildly as she told the story. Jaune couldn’t help feel a little bad for the girl’s partner, a red-head with a spear, and the boy she was regaling.

“This is my partner, Blake,” the boy said, one hand retying the scarf around his neck. The red-headed girl shuffled awkwardly and looked at her hyperactive partner. “...You should introduce your partner, Nora.”

Yang whispered something to Weiss, who blushed and spluttered. “What?”

“Look at her!” Ruby whispered, pointing at her sister. “She’s even captured a princess!”

“Ruby, that doesn’t mean Yang-”

“Yaaang!” Ruby cried, interrupting him as she her sister put her into a headlock.

“What was that, Jojo!” Yang shouted, grabbing him around the neck and pulling him to her other side. “I heard my name, have you fallen for my good looks?”

 _Jinx_ , Ruby mouthed at him.

\---

“Are you sure about letting Miss Rose attend? She is quite young, sir.”

“I’m quite confident of her skill. You should be too - after all, you were the one to find her.”

“I suppose you are right,” Glynda frowned. “I suppose I’m worried about her teammate. Joestars always seem to be trouble.”

“We’ll see how this one turns out,” Ozpin took a sip of his coffee, “His teammate has her mother’s eyes.”

Glynda looked surprised. “You mean- I see. Is that why you put those two on the same team?”

“Are you implying that I fix the teams?” Ozpin asked, chuckling. “I assure you, I am quite thoroughly scandalized.”

Glynda sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

 

Ren appreciated silence.

Which wasn’t to say that he hated people or anything like that. Other people were fine for the most part, it was just that some people didn’t like silence. They felt like it was a hole that needed to be plugged with noise. Most of the people in the monastery had been very silent. They were serious and focused and they didn’t talk to their wards very often, but he’d had Nora as a friend. She had talked enough for both of them, even once he started training.

It wasn’t that Ren hated people or anything like that, he just didn’t like talking for no reason. In that way, he supposed Blake was one of the better partners he could have gotten.

They had shared the early hours of the morning in peace.

Their other teammates, on the other hand…

“Whaaaaat?” Ruby shouted, a horrified look on her face.

Jaune nodded, cautiously. “Yeah, I lost my weapon.” He seemed as confused as the rest of them.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Is that why you weren’t using one yesterday? I’ll help you find it! Where did you lose it, unless- did someone steal it? How dare they, I’ll beat them up!” Ren wasn’t quite sure how someone as small as his team leader could fit that much air in their lungs.

“Ah,” Jaune said, trying to defuse his partner. “I don’t think you can really help. I lost it months ago.”

“And you didn’t replace it?” Blake asked, putting her book down.

“Replace it?” Ruby repeated incredulously, suddenly inches away from Blake’s face. Ren blinked. He had barely noticed her move. “You can’t just replace your weapon, Blake! That’s- that’s wrong, you just don’t do that!” She hugged Crescent Rose to her chest.

Blake flinched away from the small, shouty ball of red, the pile of machinery and firepower a little intimidating so close to her face. She looked towards him pleadingly. “We should get going,” he said, gesturing to an alarm clock. “Unless we don’t want breakfast before class.”

Ruby gasped.

They made it to Professor Oobleck’s on time. Somehow.

\---

Jaune stared. Was this a normal thing for Hunters?

Professor Oobleck was a blur, writing and erasing entire chunks of the blackboard in literal blinks of an eye. It was like watching Ruby, if Ruby was an old man hopped up on drugs - because whatever was in that mug couldn’t be just coffee.

Trying to take notes would be like trying to drain a sinking ship with a glass, and yet he could tell by the frantic scratching of Weiss’ pencil that she was trying. It was impressive - even if she looked like someone who was running a marathon, and not someone sitting in a desk - and he might have been alright with it.

“What are you doing?” Weiss hissed at his partner, “You’re a leader - don’t just sit there!”

Ruby cocked her head, “What do you mean?”

“She doesn’t need to take any notes!” Jaune cut in, trying to stare a hole through the white haired girl even as he kept his voice as quiet as possible. “Look at how fast he’s talking, it's totally unreasonable to expect that.”

“You’re saying that because _you_ don’t want to take notes!” She shot back, whispering so loudly that it wasn’t really a whisper anymore. Weiss turned back to Ruby, “Don’t let his stupidity infect you - and besides, you’re the team leader. If you really can’t take the notes, then just delegate.” She looked pointedly at him.

Jaune stood, hands slamming onto his desk. How dare she try and make him work! Weiss had the decency to blush as he stared angrily at her, but before he could say anything Oobleck clapped his hands and shouted in joy. “A volunteer, perfect! You in the back, please go ahead and tell the class why the Faunus won!.”

No one spoke. Everyone stared at him. Jaune pointed a finger at himself.

“Yes, you!” the professor confirmed.

Jaune looked to Blake. She was paying attention earlier, right?

Blake turned away and pretended not to notice him, a small grin playing itself across her lips. Traitor.

Ren motioned his head towards Ruby, who was-

Um. She was holding her fingers over her eyes, so it probably had something to do with vision. Either that or Ruby had gone crazy, and only one of those options really helped him answer the question. Actually, neither of those helped him answer the questions, because what did _vision_ have to do with anything?

Jaune looked to Star Platinum.

The Stand threw a few punches in Oobleck’s direction and looked menacing. Right, he didn’t really know what he was expecting, there. “... The Faunus surprised them?” he guessed.

“That’s absolutely correct!” Oobleck shouted. Were his eyes sparkling? “Too often do we focus on the specifics in history, and forget to look deeper - the General was uneducated about common Faunus traits, and so their night vision surprised him! It warms my heart to see students with such a passion for history!”

Jaune slid back down into his seat, and Oobleck returned to his lesson with a renewed vigor. Jaune looked to his desk. Maybe if he hit his head hard enough with it, he’d forget that this ever happened.

\---

“Hey Jaune, did you notice anything weird about Ms. Goodwitch?” Ruby asked.

He shrugged. Goodwitch hadn’t seemed any stranger than Oobleck, even if she had given him a pretty boring spar. That Dove guy really had no chance - a short sword just couldn’t compete with Star Platinum.

“Right, well, I saw her fight before - not for very long, but… I think she has a Stand,” Ruby said, “Or at least, I’m pretty sure I saw a Stand. I guess it might not be hers.”

Another Stand, here?

Jaune grabbed her by the shoulders almost without thought. “A Stand? What did it look like?” he asked. His hands trembled. With fear, with excitement, he wasn’t quite sure - but if there was another Stand User in Beacon…

“Er… It didn’t look like Star Platinum, if that’s what you’re asking? But-”

"What are you two talking about?" Blake interrupted, her eyes fixed on where Jaune's hands were.

“Ah,” Jaune stalled, “We were just…”

“Talking about getting a nightstand for the room!” Ruby chirped, covering for him.

“Oh? That’s pretty excited for furniture.” Blake raised an eyebrow in Jaune’s direction. He coughed awkwardly and took a step away from Ruby.

“Well, he thought it was a pretty good idea.” Ruby tried to fake a laugh.

“Alright…”

\---

Neon signs and vomit stains proudly declared that this establishment did indeed sell alcohol, but it was Yang who gave it her sign of approval. “It’s good,” she said, rolling her eyes at his hesitation. “Or at least good enough. Cheap beer and it’s owned by people who don’t want revenge for kicking their ass. What more do you want?”

Jaune followed her in. “Somewhere that doesn’t smell like piss?”

“C’mon Jojo,” Yang grinned as she elbowed him, “that’s just the ambiance. If you didn’t want to enjoy Vale’s nightlife, why’d you come along?”

“Because you would’ve made me come anyways?” Jaune grouched.

“I’m hurt.” Yang clutched a hand over her heart. “Now go get me a drink.”

Jaune ignored the attention they drew and got her a drink. People were paying attention to them because of their age - and the weapon Yang was carrying around in plain sight - but they probably didn’t really care. Maybe one or two of them recognized Yang or him from Junior’s, but if they wanted to start something…

“Here,” he said, handing Yang her drink and sitting down with his own. He had no clue what she liked, so had just ordered whatever sounded fruity. “Lot easier than beating up the whole bar.”

“Yeah, but loot always tastes like victory.” Yang took a sip and her expression soured. “And you don’t have to deal with bad bartenders messing up good drinks - how do you even make a Sunrise taste bad?”

Jaune looked warily at his glass. “Yang, are you sure this place is, uh, ‘good enough’?”

She took another drink and regretted it, the taste lingering in the back of her mouth. “That woman,” she began,” the one you were looking for at Junior’s. Is she something we need to be watching out for?”

“I don’t see how that’s any business of yours.”

Yang snorted. “Jaune, my sister is your teammate, and Junior seemed like he was going to piss himself when he saw that picture. If you get into shit, she’s not going to let you get into alone.”

“I thought we were here to celebrate getting in, not to warn me about getting your sister in trouble,” he said, a touch of anger bleeding into his voice. “Besides, if I get into trouble I’m not going to drag my team into it.”

Yang frowned. She bit back a retort and looked around the bar, it’s seediness starting to get on her nerves. It had been fine at the start, but now it was like suddenly noticing the dirt underneath your fingernails. Cracking an ice cube between her teeth, she stood. “Come on Jojo, let’s get out of here.”

“Do you even know where you’re going?” Jaune asked. He followed her out anyways.

“I had _a_ drink,” she said, shoving him lightly. “I’m not drunk. But no, I figured we’d just walk until something caught our attention.”

Judging by his lack of a response, he was still upset, but maybe they’d find something to distract him out here. C’mon Yang, think, what did he like to do? Jaune… Shit, she really didn’t know. What did teenage guys normally like? Maybe there was a movie worth watching in theaters.

A sign caught her eye.

“You read any comics?” Yang asked, pointing to the building across the street.

“I used to,” he mused, “I’ve probably missed a lot, but…”

The bookstore was a small place, although it certainly looked like it was doing well. The shelves were stocked and the owner looked happy enough. Jaune peeled off to look at a small stand of comics while she went to the counter. Might as well get two birds with one stone.

“Hey,” she greeted the owner, “You Tukson?”

Tukson nodded, sending a cautious look down at Ember Cecilia. It was a little rude of her to carry them so openly around the place, but, well, there was a reason this store had steel shutters for the windows.

“I’ve got a teammate with particular… interests in literature,” she said, lying through her teeth. She had no clue if Weiss was into smut, but seeing the look on her face would be totally worth it. “Got any suggestions?”

“Of course,” Tukson said as he walked towards a shelf, “A friend of mine used to really enjoy these.”

She looked down at the book covers - was that supposed to be a ninja? - and tried to figure out which would be most embarrassing. In her study, she didn’t notice Jaune leaving to use the bathroom. She didn’t notice Tukson baring his teeth in a wicked grin, either.

\---

Jaune sighed in relief as he left the bathroom. Alcohol always ran through him like a knife, in one end and out the other. Yang was probably waiting for him by now.

Thinking of his blonde haired friend left him feeling a little guilty. He shouldn’t have been so short with her.

“Mmf!”

His head snapped around. The hallway was empty - just the bathroom and a locked staff room. Had he imagined that noise, or was someone behind that locked door? Jaune hesitated. It could just be someone off shift.

“Mhm!”

He frowned. That noise again...

Jaune tried the door, cautiously. It wasn’t locked.

The staff room was small, barely enough for a few basics. A coffee machine, a microwave, and a small table to eat at.

“Mm!” the bloody man cried from his position atop the table. “Mhm!”

Jaune rushed forwards, hands tearing at the rope binding the man.

“Thank-” The man gasped as Jaune tore a piece of tape off his mouth, “Thank you.” He was in poor condition - a streak of muddy red blood ran down his face, some of it helping to seal shut one of the man’s eyes. However, what surprised Jaune most wasn’t his physical condition.

“Tukson?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> huuuu thanksgiving happened and wow is listening to your extended family argue about politics awful  
> on the other hand i was up to 4 am yesterday between playing sunless sea (which is still on sale on steam!) and writing this  
> i gave it an editing pass, but uh, i was also making pretzels so it might not have been the best o


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